


The Light at the End Of a Tunnel: Book One

by MRSHYGUY45



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Horror, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Slow Romance, Sweet, Walkers (Walking Dead), Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-06-29 21:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15737880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MRSHYGUY45/pseuds/MRSHYGUY45
Summary: Her camp was overrun by bandits, now, little Clementine is on her own now; Lee's dead, Kenny's gone, and so are Christa and Omid. But when a certain group decides to let her stay at a prison, maybe she can make it through this, with the help of a certain 'cowboy'





	1. Lost Little Girl

**Author's Note:**

> \- Alternate version posted on Wattpad 
> 
> \- Takes place after Season One Of the game and Season 3 Of the TV Show.

How long has she been on her own for? A few weeks, maybe even more? All of her friends and family are gone; her parents, her guardian Lee, Christa, Omid, Duck, Kenny, everyone. The last she heard from her parents was when she was eight, but now she's left her with her babysitter and never came back. They're dead. Then she met a man, a man who would protect her from no matter what, a man who taught her how to survive, how to shoot a gun…

Lee was his name, and she'll never forget it.

They've been through a lot; getting kicked out of a farm, escaping cannibals, riding away on trains, breaking into buildings, even shooting their own kind. Just mentioning his name brings Clementine to tears, remembering all the things he's done to save her. She'll never forget his face, his smile, his advice.

But now he's gone. She had to shoot him after he saved her from The Marsh House when a man kidnapped her. He was bit, and there's no point denying it. Soon after that, she was looked after by Omid and Christa, who was with them after the train ride to Savannah. They're really nice, in Clementine's opinion.

She sighed, shutting her eyes, trying to get the images of their dead bodies out of her head. Their camp was attacked and Clem ran, not even bothering to look back at their helpless cries of pain and agony. She heard the raiders demanding for their things, that's when Christa told Clementine to run.

" _Clementine! RUN!" Christa screamed over at the bushes where the eleven year old girl hid. Clementine's eyes widened before sprinting away from their camp, clutching her backpack to her chest and hearing guns fire and bodies drop to the floor._

The young girl looked down at the photo she had of Lee, letting a single tear drop onto the photo before slipping it back into her backpack. She stood up from the log she sat on and walked over to the woods, hoping for any abandoned camps, or friendly people.

Clutching her pistol, she brushed past the branches and corpses before falling flat on her face. She lifted her head from the ground and heard the familiar snarl of a blood-thirsty walker behind her. She let out a yelp before aiming her pistol at the creature, but the walker fell on top of her, knocking the gun out of her hands.

"NO!" She screamed, managing to hold the walker back with what little strength she had left. "Get off of me!" The walker inched its way closer to the girl, its teeth ready to sink into her neck. "LEE!" She couldn't help but yell out, fearing the worst.

Then the walker fell silent and fell lifeless on top of her. She scrambled out from underneath the biter and looked up at the man who saved her. He was a tall man with a torn-up uniform and a crossbow in his hands. "W-Who are you?" Clem managed to ask as the man grabbed the crossbow from the walker's skull.

The man didn't reply, but only reloaded his crossbow, staring down at her. Clem quickly crawled over to get her gun and aimed it at the man, who seemed surprised at the moment. "Who are you?!" She demanded, her voice louder then before.

The man raised his hands in defense and knelt down to the girl's level, who still held the pistol with shaky hands. She couldn't trust anybody, especially after the Marsh House. "Why don't you put the gun down so we can talk?" His voice was calm as he said this.

The young girl shook her head rapidly. There's no chance she was trusting some stranger out in the woods. She can't trust anyone now. "No! I don't trust you!"

"Well what's your name at least?" The man asked rather quickly, his eyes softening.

"…C-Clementine." She replied, her voice filled with caution and fear. She cursed under her breath, not thinking twice about who this man was. After all, he could be a raider, a cannibal, or even a rapist! The last time she told a stranger her name, she ended up being kidnapped!

The man gave her a small smile. "That's a nice name ya got there, Clementine." She lowered her gun a little bit. "It's nice to meet you. Please, I'm not a bad guy here. If I were, I would've killed you by now." He then let out a small chuckle, making Clementine scowl at him.

Not a nice way to joke at a little girl…

Noticing her scowl, the man coughed before frowning. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be playing like that." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something move in the bushes behind him, followed by a low growl she knew all too familiar of. The man was too busy talking to hear the walker coming up from behind him. "…Just come with me and…"

BANG!

He turned around as the walker dropped dead next to him. His eyes averted to the smoking barrel from Clementine's gun before letting out a small whistle. "Nice aim you got there, little miss. Saved my life." She nodded at the man, who smiled at her again.

"What's your name?" She asked after the short silence that fell between the two.

"Oh, sorry. Name's Daryl." He replied before standing back up. "Now, please, come with me. You can be safe, we have people about your age there." His tone sounded like as if he were pleading.

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, okay. I'll go." Daryl sighed before running through the woods with Clementine closely following.

' _I hope this guy is telling the truth about that place._ ' She thought to herself, still running through the forest with Daryl. ' _I really want to see kids my age again._ '

"Not too much far ahead." Daryl pointed, stopping for a quick breath. Clementine stopped as well, panting when all the walker growls died down. "We'll hop on my motorcycle and I'll take us back to the prison."

"A prison?" Clem asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "Is it a big prison or..?"

"Huge." Daryl stated. "We've got food, water, supplies, everything to survive. You'll make some friends too, guarantee it." Yeah, she wished she still had friends. Most of her friends were gone and dead. Duck was bitten, Ben was killed, Lee was killed, and Kenny's gone. Her school friends were either dead or gone as well.

Why is this stuff happening to her?! All of her family and friends left her at the age of 8!

Daryl must've noticed the look on her face and frowned. "Don't worry, I lost a few friends of my own. My Dad, my brother, Merle. Man, what a tough son of a bitch he was."

"Swear…" Clem warned him, cutting him off with narrowed eyes.

The young Dixon brother seemed surprised at her remark. "Oh, right, sorry." Wow, this little girl seemed to act like a mature woman! Well, in a world like this, you can do whatever the fuck you want, basically. "My bike should be up that road."

Clementine raised an eyebrow as she looked up at the youngest Dixon brother. "Like a motorcycle?"

Daryl chuckled and nodded. "Yep, like that. Couldn't leave it too far, I was afraid someone'll jack it. That is, until there's an arrow in their skull." His chuckle grew louder, but Clementine wasn't laughing along. She gave him a look before looking straight ahead.

There was a motorcycle parked on the road. It was black and Clementine found herself gaping at it. It's been so long since she saw one!

"Hop on." Daryl gestured at the little girl, smiling as he approached the bike.

Clementine blinked a few times before nodding. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's waist and he started the engine, startling Clem from the sudden loudness. Then they rode off with Clem looking back at the herd that emerged from the woods they were in. She couldn't help but stare at them, watching their clueless and dead looks they gave them.

" _Don't worry, sweetpea."_ Lee's voice echoed in her head. " _You'll be safe again. I promise._ "


	2. New Faces Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine meets new & old faces at the prison...and a special someone.

Clementine found herself a little drowsy at the moment. Sure, they were going 70 mph, but she rarely had any sleep after the bandits attacked her. The man, Daryl, seemed in a faze as he drove his bike, he hadn't said anything since they left. Usually, a nice guy would try to start a conversation with her.

Maybe she was wrong about him.

The little girl looked at the woods they drove next to, noticing a few walkers emerging from the trees. What happened to this world? She remembered when people were walking on the sidewalks, talking to each other, instead of screaming and running down them.

"Where did you stay when all this happened?" Daryl finally decided to pop a question.

Clementine blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up to answer. "Um, I stayed in my treehouse for a few days before Lee found me. His leg was pretty bad because he was in an accident when he looked for help. Then we stayed in a drug store and met a few people, then a motor inn, a dairy farm, but those people were evil. They ate people."

"Sick." Clementine heard Daryl spit out.

Clem nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Then we left the motor inn after bandits attacked. We lost a few people on the way, one of them were left behind." Daryl wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. "So, we found an abandoned train on the tracks."

Daryl couldn't help but chuckle, "A train, huh? Damn, some transportation. No worrying about gas, no walkers, and they go fast as hell. The train does make a lot of noise though, I'll tell you that." He glanced back at the little girl and smiled, in which she returned. "Please, continue your story."

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, we stopped in Savannah because one of our group members thought there were boats there."

Before Clem could finish, the youngest Dixon brother cut her off again. "Boats? Nah, I bet there were none left. They all taken after news spread about the walkers first appearing." Clem couldn't help but hang her head. Daryl looked at her before his eyes went wide and frowned. "Oh, I-I'm sorry."

"There were no boats. Then, someone said they had my parents and he took me from my group."

"Now that's fucked up!" He exclaimed, slowing the bike down a bit to rant. "See, now what can he accomplish from kidnapping a sweet, little girl?"

"Let me finish." Clementine harshly commanded, making Daryl quiet. "Anyway, Lee, the man who looked after me after all this started, saved me from him. Bad news…" She couldn't help but sniffle when the words couldn't slip out.

Then the sniffles turned into a quiet sob.

Daryl's mouth opened to say something, but nothing spilled out. He knows that feeling, losing someone you were close to: Family and friends. He missed Merle hell of a lot, even if he was a complete dick most of the time. But he was family! His brother for God's sake!

"…He was bit?" He couldn't help but ask. Man, he sure felt like a complete douchebag now. However, he didn't get a response, only the soft sobbing from the little girl. "Aw, crap. Look, I'm sorry for asking."

Clementine wiped the tears off of her face, "No, it's okay."

"So, is that why you're on your own?"

The little girl shook her head, "No. A couple named Chirsta and Omid looked after me for a while. They were part of our group when we reached Savannah." Daryl nodded before turning a corner. "Our camp was raided by bandits….they were killed and I ran. That's when you found me…Thanks again."

The young redneck cracked a smile when she said this. "Aw, shucks. You makin' me blush." Clementine couldn't help but laugh as the bike slowed down and approached a gate where a man stood there. Daryl nodded at him, and the gate was opened.

"Daryl." The man walked up to him, "About time you came. Started to get worried." He then focused at Clementine with a surprised look on his face. "And who might this little girl be?"

The two got off the bike and Daryl patted the girl on her shoulder, "This, right here, is Clementine. I found her in the woods after her camp was raided. Don't worry, she's a sweet little thing….kinda." Clementine shot Daryl a playful scowl. "Clementine, this is Rick."

Rick bent down to her height and smiled, "Hey there, Clementine. Don't worry I won't bite."

"Hey." Clem shyly waved at the man.

"We're happy to have you here." Rick says before standing back up and patting the girl on the head. "Come on, let's show you around." He gestured for the little girl to follow, but she hesitated for a moment and stood in her place next to Daryl.

"Hold on, Rick." Daryl's gruff voice stopped everyone from doing anything. The sheriff glanced at him, confusion written on his face. The Dixon brother stared at Rick, as if in a threatening way. "Bah! Just kidding!" Rick and, surprisingly, Clementine rolled their eyes at him. "What? It was a joke."

"Anyway," Rick started as Clem followed him around the yard. "We recently found this prison a month ago. There's only a handful of us, we lost some trying to clear this place out." His face then dropped as he said this.

Clementine didn't know this as she turned around to face Daryl, who was a few steps behind them. "I thought you said there was a lot of people?" The redneck only shrugged in response.

"You know, I have a boy about your age here." Rick looked down at the girl, a small smile curved on his lips. "Yeah, his name is Carl. In fact, he should be out here." He then placed a hand over his eyes as he scanned the area for his son.

Daryl caught up to them, "You might want to be careful around Carl." He warned, earning a confused look from the girl. "Poor kid had to shoot his mom." She nodded. Yeah, she knew this feeling. Sad, Anger, and sorrow. She had to shoot Lee too, someone close to her. "Just don't mention it to him."

"We all lost someone close." Clementine sighed, making Daryl stare at her before nodding in agreement.

Rick waved his hand in the air, "I see him." She heard him say to himself.

A boy about her age ran up to them, wearing a sheriff hat and a brown vest with blue eyes and brown hair. "Hey, Dad." He greeted his father before looking at Daryl. "Daryl." His eyes then averted at Clementine, who simply stared at him. "Who's this?"

"Carl, this is Clementine." Rick introduced. "She's going to be staying with us for a while."

Said boy looked at the girl that stood in front of him, scanning her for a bit. He didn't know how long he has been staring, because Clementine let out an annoyed sigh. "It's not polite to stare." She then giggled as she witnessed the boy's reaction.

Carl couldn't help but blush, "Yeah, sorry." His apology then earned a laugh from Daryl. "Um, that why you called me out here? Just to say 'hi'?" His voice went from embarrassment to annoyance in a second. Rick must've noticed because he sighed and wiped his forehead.

"Uh, no." He shook his head at his son, "I was hoping you could show her around, you know, introduce her to the others?"

"Why can't you do it?"

"Me and Daryl are gonna work on the yard…" He then turned to face the redneck, "…right, Daryl?" The young Dixon brother nodded.

Carl looked up at his father, then back at Clementine. "Come on." He gestured at Clementine to follow, which she obliged.

They walked in silence for the most part, staring at the ground or at the prison in general. Clementine wasn't feeling bothered by this, but was kind of mad at Carl for not showing her the gardens and what not, even though she didn't really like gardening.

Carl, however, thought of a way to start a conversation with her; but about what? ' _Aw, man. Come on, Carl, just say something…Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?!_ ' He was fighting himself for a bit before sighing.

"C-Cool hat." He blurted out, facing Clementine with a small smile.

Clem nodded, "Thanks." Carl turned the other way and cursed at himself for being so stupid.

He opened one of the doors to the entrance of the prison and stepped inside. The first thing Clem breathed in was dust, just old dust. She let out a small cough but continued to follow the boy.

"We sleep here, most of the time." Carl pointed at the not-so empty cells, "I sleep in here." He pointed at a bunk that had a messy bed and a few comic books laying on top of it.

"Why, hello there." An elderly voice chuckled from behind them. Clem thought she saw a ghost for a minute, this man looked very familiar. He had a white beard and walked with stretcher on one of his arms. "I haven't seen you in a long time, little missy."

Clem took a step forward, "Hershel?"

Said man nodded. "Still alive and kicking, heh."

"I'm sorry for what happened to your son." She apologized while looking down. Even though she didn't cause his death or had nothing to do with it, she still felt as if it was her fault, somehow. Carl rose an eyebrow at this, but chose to ask questions later.

Hershel frowned, "Now you know that wasn't your fault, Clementine, It was nobody's. After all, Lee did try to save him." His smile grew yet again, but frowned again when he saw Clementine's face drop. "Where is he anyway?"

Before Clem could answer, Carl asked "Who's Lee? Your Dad?"

"No." She replied, not looking at him. "He was…a friend who looked after me."

"Oh, Clem, I'm sorry." He patted the girl on the shoulder. The room was silent before Hershel stood up, "The others should be in another block. Come on, I'll show you around."

Carl watched as the two walked away, wondering how she had met Hershel before. He hadn't noticed Daryl walked up from behind him and let out a single chuckle. "It's best if you don't ask too many questions." He warned before walking past him.

"In a way, she's kinda like you. What a perfect match you two would make."

Wait, what?


	3. New Faces Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine meets the rest of the prison group and helps Daryl and Carl clear out some walkers.

**The Light at the End of the Tunnel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or any of its characters. All rights go to Skybound, AMC, and Robert Kirkman himself.**

**Chapter 3: _New Faces Pt. II_**

 

* * *

Clementine was surprised about how this prison was set up. One cell block was for the sick, others were for living, and there was a library and a kitchen too! This had to be the safest place she's been to. Even though she just met some of these people, she felt safe. Safer than she's ever felt before.

Noticing the look on her face, Hershel chuckled. "Like what you see? It took us a while but we finally got this place figured out. This was all Rick's idea too." Clementine stared up at him, surprised. Rick did all this?

"Where are the rest of your people?" She asks.

The old man pointed straight ahead and Clementine spotted a few people circled in a group. "They're right there. Follow me."

As they got closer to the group, Clementine couldn't help but look on in confusion at a certain person. Why does he look so familiar? He had short, black hair and was Korean. But the only Korean person she met was Glenn when she was just a child, but he left the group. Wasn't he dead?

"Everyone, this is Clementine." He introduced her to the group, all eyes on her. "Daryl found her while on a run and now she'll be staying with us. Don't worry, she can't harm a fly, right?" He smiled down at her, making Clem chuckle.

A teen girl with blonde hair smiled at her while cradling a baby in her arms. "That's a beautiful name you got there, Clementine. I'm Beth."

Another woman with brown hair spoke up as well with a small smile. "I'm Maggie." Clem picked up a southern accent from her.

However, the Korean man only stared at her in awe. Clem noticed this and stared back, her eyes just as wide.

No way…

"Glenn?" She gasped out, stepping closer to the Korean man, who did the same. Everyone exchanged confused glances at each other. How did these two possibly know each other?

"Clem?" He asks back before being tackled with a hug. Glenn smiled with tears in the corner of his eyes. "Wow, it's been a while. Look at you, you've grown." He patted the girl on the head, making her laugh. His smile soon dropped. "Hey, where's Lee? Kenny? Lily?"

Hershel shot him a careful look, his eyes averting to the little girl in his arms. Glenn cursed under his breath, realization hitting him and he felt so stupid. "Oh, Clem, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

Clem looked up at him with a frown, "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Maggie, having enough of this confusion, took a step forward. "How is it that you two know each other?"

Glenn smiled at the group in front of him with Clem right by his side. "Well, before I met with Merle and the others, I stayed in Macon for a bit. I found a group and we hid in a drug store before I met Clementine. She was with her group and a guy named Lee was looking after her. He was a good guy. Anyway, I ended up being trapped before he saved me and the drug store got overrun by walkers. We found a motor inn but I had to get back to Atlanta to find my friends."

Then Hershel took a step forward, "Kenny was with you, right?"

Clementine nodded, "Yeah, actually, after the drug store, he stayed with us for a while but when we were in Atlanta, we got separated. I don't know what happened to him."

Maggie faced her father with a shocked look on her face. "Wait, didn't you say Kenny was the one who killed Shaun while we were out?"

The old man nodded and sighed, looking at the ground. "But it wasn't his fault, though. He was trying to save his son. I would've done the same thing."

His daughter shot him an angry look for a split second before frowning. When she first heard the news of her brother's "accident", she was devastated. If she would've been home at the time, she'd be able to save her brother and have a chance to speak with him again. But if he did live, she knew he'd most likely parish when their family's farm burnt down.

"How long have you been on your own?" Beth asks in both interest and concern.

Clem looked at the infant for a moment. "For a few weeks, I guess." She replies, gazing up back at the group in front of her. Beth exchanged a shocked look with Maggie and Hershel. "When our camp was being raided, my friend told me to run and I did. Ever since then, I've been on my own."

The group shared more shocked looks with each other. All except Daryl, who stood in the doorway and smiled proudly at Clementine, were in disbelief that someone as young as her can take care of herself in a world like this.

"Girl's tough as nails." Daryl proudly announced from his spot in the doorway. "Believe it or not, she can take care of herself a lot better than some of y'all." He finished with a small laugh. "She even saved my life. This lil' ass kicker good with a gun too."

"Well, that's all we need to know." Hershel smiles at the young girl.

Maggie mirrored her Dad's expression before handing Clementine a bowl of oatmeal. "You hungry?"

"Very." She sighs out in relief, finally getting the chance to fill her stomach again. As soon as she was handed her bowl, she chowed down like there was no tomorrow. Maggie then gave everyone else their bowl.

Carl then walked in, his head low as he took a seat next to Clementine. There was a short, awkward silence as the group watched the boy eat for a second. Nobody wanted to bring up what happened a few days ago, let alone mentioning Rick's behavior recently. Ever since Lori's death, both Rick and Carl showed change in their behavior. Carl's been quiet and Rick's been acting…different like he was a whole new person.

As he picked at his oatmeal, he stole a few glances at the girl next to him. At one point, their eyes met and Carl couldn't help but smile at her. Clementine, with a mouth full of oatmeal, smiled back. Daryl chuckled from his spot on the steps, but no one heard him.

"Everybody okay?"

Rick walked in the room, looking exhausted. Bags were under his eyes and even some stained blood was on his neck and shirt.

"…Yeah, we are." Maggie responds after another short silence.

Hershel nodded his head and examined the sheriff. "What about you? You look exhausted."

Rick looked at the old farmer before looking down at his son. "Cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" Daryl asked.

"I don't know. A dozen…two dozen?" Rick says honestly, arms placed on his hips. "I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl…" His eyes then landed on Clementine. "…and our new guest. So, can we trust her?"

"Of course." Daryl was the first to reply and rather quickly. "She saved my life, not to mention all the shit she's been through. She's good in my book." Clem flashed a small smile towards Daryl, who nodded.

Hershel nodded in agreement. "I vouch for her."

"Me too." Maggie agrees.

"Yeah, she's cool." A large, African-American says next to Daryl. Clem hadn't even noticed him till now.

Beth nodded.

"I've known her since all of this started." Glenn says with a goofy grin on his face. "After seeing what her old group did for mine, I trust her with my life."

"Carl?" Rick waited for his son's saying, eyebrow risen.

Said boy looked up at his Dad before looking at the girl next to him. "She's cool." He gave a nod at her.

Rick laughed a little before placing his hand on top of Clementine's head. "Well, since everyone trusts you, so do I. Welcome to the group, Clementine."

Clementine smiled. "Thank you."

As she looked up at her new group's leader, she finally felt safe once again. Sure, she didn't feel entirely safe, it wasn't like Lee was right next to her. No, but at least she finally met some familiar faces in her group. Not to mention she knew them since everything first started. If everything falls in the right direction, maybe she didn't have to worry about anything bad like walkers or raiders like last time.

Rick then made his way towards Daryl, a serious expression on his face. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"

The sudden question made Clementine confused. What's going on?

"Yeah." Daryl nods his head. "Kinda runnin' low on ammo though."

Glenn stood up from his seat. "Maggie and I were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula." Rick looked back at the Korean man with a thankful look on his face.

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency." Daryl adds. "We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."

Rick nodded. "Good. Good."

With that, the sheriff made a beeline to the door. Hershel called out his name, but his only response was the door slamming shut. The old farmer grumbled under his breath with Carl looking over his shoulder at the door.

"Clem." Daryl called out to the young girl. "You and Carl are with me clearing the lower levels." He then turned to Oscar. "Oscar, go meet Axel in the generator room to see if he's okay." Oscar nods. "You got your gun on ya?"

Clementine nods and placed her gun on the table. Hershel and Glenn exchanged a worried glance with Carl eyeing the worn out Glock.

"Atta girl. We'll meet at your cell in 5 minutes."

* * *

She stared down at the picture of Lee she picked up from the drug store some time ago. Before every run and every nap, she'd look at the picture of her long gone guardian, hoping he was watching protecting her in some shape or form. Sometimes she'd think he did protect her even in death. If all hope seemed gone, she always thought Lee came down and made her see the bright side of things again. Like when Daryl saved her and let her in the group.

Smiling down at the photo one last time, she put it back in her backpack and zipped it shut.

"You ready?" Came Daryl's voice from behind her.

"Yeah, let's go." She gave the redneck a nod and followed him through the halls with Carl closely behind. Clementine picked up on how quiet he's been lately. Despite only knowing him for an hour, she's growing worried about him. She didn't want the only friend her age being depressed.

Daryl looked back at the girl as he led them through the dark hallway. "Nice first day, huh? Not even a full day and you're already tasked with a big job. Congrats."

"It's nothing, really." She says. "I've dealt with bigger things than this."

Remembering the stories she told him, the youngest Dixon brother frowned. "Yeah. Right."

When they turned the corner of the hall, they heard a small clanging coming from a locked metal door. Daryl readied his crossbow and Clementine gripped her pistol from her waist. Carl, however, only stood there, looking down at the killed walker in front of his feet.

"Daryl…" Clem warned the redneck, motioning to the door in front of them.

"Don't worry." He reassures her, pressing lightly at the metal door. It closed ever so slightly before slowly barely opening. "Looks like they ain't got much fight. It's probably just one or two of 'em. They ain't going nowhere. We'll take care of them on the way back."

They stepped away from the door with Daryl whistling to Carl to pick up the pace.

"You know, my mom, she liked her wine." Daryl started the conversation between the three of them. "She liked to smoke in bed. Virginia Slims."

"Some Mom she sounds like." Clementine comments, making a disgruntled face.

Daryl laughed a little. "Yeah, she wasn't the greatest. Anyway, I was playing out with the kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone. They had bikes, I didn't. We heard sirens getting louder. So they jumped on their bikes, ran after it, you know, hoping to see something worth seeing."

"Like what?" Clem asks.

"A dead body, burning house, any of those things. Well, at least they got to see two things." He sighs out after peeking inside an empty closet. "I ran after them, but I couldn't keep up. I ran around the corner and saw my friends looking at me. Hell, I saw everybody looking at me. Fire trucks everywhere. People from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for. It was my mom in bed, burnt down to nothing."

Clementine's eyes went wide. "Down to nothing? Like, not even a trace of her?"

Daryl shook his head. "Nothin' but ash. You know, she was just gone. Erased. Nothing left of her…people said it was better that way." He scoffed to himself. "Just made it seem like it wasn't real, you know?"

Carl lifted his head. "I shot my mom." He says, mostly to Clementine. Both the redneck and girl look at him. "She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it. It was real" By now, both boys had their heads down for a moment, most likely grieving each other's loses.

"I didn't even get to see my parents when all this started." Clem began, looking down at the ground. "They left me with my babysitter, Sandra. When she turned, I hid in my treehouse until Lee found me." Daryl and Carl looked at her, interested at her story. "I wanted to find my parents so I can know what happened to them. When we reached Savannah, it was already too late. They turned. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry, darlin'." Daryl mumbles, giving Clementine a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry about your Mom." Clem turned her head to Carl.

The son of Rick nodded. "Sorry about yours."

"Come on."

* * *

"Slippers?" Clem asked herself as she picked up a pair of worn out slippers from a prison cell. "Who'd wanna wear these dirty old things?"

Daryl rose his eyebrow. "You'd be surprised."

The familiar sound of growling came from behind them. Without even hesitating, all three shot at the walker. It dropped dead with two bullet holes in its head and an arrow through its eye socket.

"This asshole probably came from the cell at the end." Daryl points out as they walk closer to the walker. Then he noticed something sticking out of his throat. It looked like the handle of a knife. "The hell?" He pulled it out of the walker's throat, blood spurting from the open wound.

"What's wrong?" Clementine asks, peeking over Daryl's shoulder to see the knife.

"That's Carol's knife." He points out, cleaning the blade on the walker's shirt.

Clem looked at Carl for an answer.

"Carol's a part of the group too." Carl says. "When we were cleaning this place out, she went missing. Hopefully this is a sign that she's still here somewhere."

Daryl held the knife firmly in his hand, thinking of Carol and hoping she was okay. "Ya'll go on back. We done for today."

"Are you sure?" Clementine asked with a shrug directed at Carl.

Daryl nodded. "Definitely. Go on."

They left the redneck to leave him with his thoughts, Clem looking over her shoulder looking worried. Daryl must've cared for her…a lot it seemed. She wondered what she was to him. Family? Friend? Girlfriend?

She made a face at herself for the last one.

"What'd you think?"

"What?"

Carl gave her a friendly smile. "What'd you think of the group? It's nice to know you remember a few faces. By the way, how do you know Hershel and Glenn?" He asks while opening the door leading back to one of the cell blocks.

"My old group stayed at his farm when everything first started." Clementine explains, sharing a quick glance with the boy. "He fixed Lee's leg after he was injured in a car crash. Then, his son died when walkers broke the gate. He kicked us all off. I thought I'd never see him again."

"Hershel took care of me too." Carl admits. "When I got shot, he fixed me up."

Clem stopped walking and looked at Carl with a shocked expression. "You were shot?"

He nods. "Yeah, it wasn't fatal though. After that, we stayed with him for a while before walkers tore everything apart." He looked back at Clementine as they continued their walk. "How'd you meet Glenn?"

"He was with another group when my group went in a drug store. He saved our lives."

"I think I remember him telling us about that group. I think he mentioned someone named Lily?"

Clementine nodded. "Yeah, she was the 'leader' I guess. What a mess she was. Anyway, after that we stayed at a Motor Inn and that's when Glenn decided to leave." A small smiled curved her lips. "It's happy to see him and Hershel again."

Carl mirrored her expression. "I bet it is."

When the two reached Clementine's cell, Carl stood and watched from the doorway as Clem sat on her bunk.

"How's your first day here?" Carl asks in a joking manner.

"Could've been worse." She admits, chuckling at him. "Thanks again, for showing me around."

Carl smiles again. "No problem. You know, it's glad to have someone my age to talk to for once."

"I know. Feels great." She responds.

A short silence fell amongst the two for a brief moment. Carl continued to watch Clementine as she rummaged through her bag, pulling out various items. He watched her pull out a lighter, a pocketknife, some bullets for her pistol, and a few bandages. He was impressed by how well she came prepared.

"I think you're gonna like it here." He blurts out.

"I already do." She responds quickly, surprising the boy.

Carl laughed.

"Welcome home."

 


	4. When The Dead Come To Suffer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine discovers more about the group while new faces create tension amongst them.

"You've ever read Science Dog?" Carl asks, carrying a stack of comics in his hands. He and Clem were walking around the prison, trying to kill time and find out more about each other. So far, Clem had only told him bits and pieces about her past; she stayed in her treehouse when everything first started, she met a man named Lee, they stayed with a group, and her parents were dead. Carl knew there was more to her story but he didn't want to be nosy. He wanted to wait for the right time to ask.

Clementine shook her head and said, "No…I haven't really read comics that much."

There wasn't much Clem knew about Carl except that he shot his Mom after giving birth to his sister and he was shot. Besides that, there wasn't much left. She didn't know if he was hiding anything or if he was saying everything that happened.

Carl gave her a surprised look. "Oh man! You're gonna love them!" He exclaims.

"I have a feeling I will." She says with a giggle.

The two quickly became friends ever since Clem entered the prison. It was nice, Carl thought, having someone his own age to talk to. After Sophia's death, he thought he'd be stuck talking with grownups for the rest of his life. It got boring. The only person close to his age was Beth, but she's always with the baby now. When he met Clementine, he knew they'd become good friends just by looking at her.

"Wanna go to my cell later and read some?" He asks, smiling warmly at the girl. "I'll let you pick whatever you want."

"Sure, if no one forces me to go on a run with them." She replies, smiling back.

They walked past Daryl and Beth, who were watching the two the whole time. Beth smiled at the two while Daryl started to laugh lightly. Surprisingly, both Clementine and Carl didn't hear him.

"Those two are adorable," Beth says while cradling Rick's daughter in her arms. "Maybe they'll hit it off…"

Daryl smirked at the two kids before chuckling again. "I hope so. I haven't seen Carl smile that much since…y'know."

"It's good to talk to someone your own age." Beth declared, looking up at the youngest Dixon brother. "Carl needs a friend to support him. I don't know about Clementine, but she might need one as well. They'll care for each other, I just know it."

Daryl nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's been through a lot of shit. Her parents and her guardian are dead and her friends were raided. At least Carl has Rick and Lil Asskicker over here." He smiled down at the baby.

"She's got you." Beth comments. The redneck gave her a confused look. "C'mon, Daryl, it's obvious you care about her. The way you praised her yesterday and not to mention you said you trust her with your life. Don't act like you don't care."

She was right, He really did care for her. After hearing her story, something in his head told him to look out for her. Not as a member of the group, but as a friend…even a guardian.

"Clementine can take care of herself." He grumbles. "She don't need Lil ol' me lookin' after her."

"She doesn't," Beth says. "But it'll be nice of you to be there for her when things get tough; Carl has his Dad, me and Maggie have ours, it'll be sweet of you to be there for her." The youngest daughter of Hershel flashed Daryl a small smile before standing up. "I'm going to check on my Dad."

With that, she left Daryl alone to be in his thoughts.

* * *

Clem and Carl had exited the prison and entered the yard, sharing a laugh. She told him some jokes she learned from Omid and was glad he enjoyed them. They were corny as hell, but that's what made them funny. She didn't show it but she missed the man dearly. Him and Christa. They were the only people from Lee's group that were alive. Ben, Duck, Katjaa, Carley, Larry, Mark, Kenny…they were all dead.

Their laughter died down before Carl points out, "Jeez, Glenn and Maggie have been gone for a while. I hope they're okay."

The couple went on a supply run to get baby formula and diapers for Carl's sister. They've been gone for almost a day and she started to get worried. Glenn was part of Lee's group too and losing him will only make her list of dead friends grow.

"Me too." Clementine nods in agreement before glancing at the boy next to her. "Oh, you finally have a name for your sister? Daryl told me her name was Lil Asskicker." She chuckled. "I'm not gonna lie, but I like it."

Carl laughed again then shrugs. "I've been trying to think about a name all day. I was thinking maybe…" His voice died down when he spotted his Dad at the gate, staring at someone carrying a red basket and surrounded by walkers. "What the hell?"

"What?" Clem asks before following his gaze to also see the figure. "W-Who's that?"

"I don't know," Carl replies before setting the comic books down on the ground. "C'mon! Let's see!"

Clementine nods and ran with Carl through the field. As they approached closer to the mysterious figure, Clementine can finally make out its appearance. It was a dark-skinned woman with long dreads and she was covered with dried blood. She also wielded a katana on her back and had a pained look on her face. In her hand was a red, shopping basket filled with baby formula and diapers, the stuff Maggie and Glenn were supposed to get…

She grew even more worried as she stared at the woman in shock. Where were Maggie and Glenn? Did she kill them? The woman made eye contact at her as if she was studying her soul. Her head tilted to the side at Clementine, who took a step back nervously. Carl quickly stepped in front of her, shielding her. The walkers snarled and growled at Rick and the kids but ignored the woman in front of them.

She hissed while grabbing onto the side of her leg. Clementine noticed the wound before she covered it up and turned to Rick and exclaimed, "She's hurt!"

Rick rose his eyebrows at her then turned back to the woman as he bit the inside of his cheek. Hershel and Beth walked out and were as shocked as the rest at the woman. Hershel was more concerned about Rick though. Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything drastic that'll get her killed.

One of the walkers finally noticed her and turned its soulless eyes at her. She gave Rick a deadly glare and limped back from the walker, taking out her katana during the process. She plunged the sword between the undead creature's eyes, blood splattering on her.

Carl turned to his Dad. "Should we help her?" He asks, placing his hand on his gun.

Rick gave his son a dull look then stomped away. Carl watched his Dad leave in shock as Clementine watched the wounded woman slice at the walkers. She wanted to help her in some sort of way. That's what Lee taught her after all.

"Carl, we have to do something." Clem states, a serious expression on her face.

"I know!" He exclaims, looking back at his Dad's disappearing figure. "But Dad's not going to do anything!"

Clementine looked back to the woman, watching nervously as more walkers started to swarm around her. Her wound made it worse for her to move, making her drop to the ground, panting. She must be passing out from the pain…

Seeing enough, Clem pulled out her Glock and fired at a few of the walkers closest to the woman. They dropped dead in an instant. Rick heard the shots and ran over to the sliding gate. Carl took out his gun as well and fired at the creatures.

"Carl!" Rick held out his hand. "Keys!"

Carl nods and tossed his Dad the keys with Clementine still firing at the walkers. Rick slid the gate open, a pissed look on his face, before shooting at the walkers with his Python. Carl and Clem followed, sticking close to the sheriff. A few shots later, most of the walkers were gone so Carl ran and got the basket while Rick kicked the woman's weapon out of her reach.

"Is she bit?" Hershel asks from the other side of the gate.

Rick searched the woman for her wound but Clementine beat him to it. "She's been shot!" She replies.

The sheriff gave a short nod to the old farmer and lifted the injured woman, with the help of Clementine, and hurried back inside the cellblock. Carl was in front of them, opening the gates that led to the cellblock. Clementine could feel the side of her shirt get wet from the woman's blood and made a disgusted look.

"Carl, get a blanket." Carl nodded and followed his Dad's orders. "Beth, water and a towel." Said girl nods and ran over to the sink.

Carl grabbed the nearest blanket from a bin and spread it out in front of him. Rick and Clementine grunted as they set the woman down on the blanket, her blood already soaking it. The woman was barely conscious so she only made groaning noises in protest.

"She's not coming in the cellblocks." Rick declares before being handed a cup of water. "Thank you." He poured the water onto her chest and spread it around. "It's alright. It's alright." The woman started to stir like she was experiencing a nightmare. "Who are you?"

The woman blinked a few times until opening her eyes. She let out a gasp and quickly reached for her katana. Rick was faster than she was and kicked the weapon away from her reach while still coaxing her to talk.

"Rick." Daryl's gruff voice caught the sheriff's attention. He entered the room, crossbow in hand as he watched the scene in confusion. "Who the hell is this?" He gestured to the woman on the floor.

Clementine walked up to the redneck and said, "We found her outside with walkers. She was carrying a basket with baby stuff in it." Daryl looked down at the young girl and smirked. Beth giggled at him, finding it amusing that Clem can break through Daryl's toughness.

"Thanks, darlin'." He nods, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Rick returned back to the woman. "You wanna tell us your name?" He asks softly.

The woman only stared at him, feeling both threatened and uneasy. Despite saving her, just by looking at his eyes she could tell this man was dangerous. She felt her body start to shake from the pain of the gunshot and gripped the cage behind her.

Daryl shot the woman a cold look and said to the group, "Y'all come on in here." He gestured to the cellblock behind him.

"Why?" Clementine asks innocently, shrugging her shoulders at him.

Rick stood up and faced the redneck. "Everything all right?" He asks, raising his eyebrows as a look of concern on his face.

Daryl fixed his head to look at Rick, his expression hardening. "You're gonna wanna see this."

Clementine looked back at the group behind her, hoping to find an answer to what was going on. The response she got was the group's confused and nervous faces as well. She turned her gaze to Carl, who shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Go on now." Rick commanded, gesturing the group to the cellblock. He then turned to his son and pointed at the bag across the room. "Carl, get the bag. Clem, go get the basket." Both kids obliged and carried the items while looking at the wounded woman curiously. Rick held up the katana and said, "We'll keep this safe and sound. The doors are all locked. You'll be safe here. And we can treat that."

The woman looked at her surroundings before glaring up at the sheriff and seethed, "I didn't need your help."

"Doesn't matter." Rick simply states before turning his back at her. "Can't let you leave."

With that, Daryl shut the gate and led the group to one of the cellblocks. He stopped at one of the cells and Clem saw Rick go in and bend over as if he was hugging someone. The sheriff stepped back and a woman with short, blackish-grey hair and rosy skin. There was bags under her eyes and spots of blood on her face. Despite all that, she was still smiling at the group as she hugged them one by one.

Clementine walked towards Carl, confusion on her face. "Who's she?" She asks.

"That's Carol." He replies, grinning at her. "That's the woman who Daryl mentioned when we were cleaning out the boiler room."

The woman named Carol started to sob as she rejoiced with the group. Clementine could see her eyes well up when she saw the baby. She turned to Rick but the sheriff hung his head. Carol gasped and her eyes became wet then hugged him, crying onto his shoulder. Clem frowned at the scene, feeling the sadness in the air. She never knew Rick's wife, but even she found herself sad at her death. From the things Carl said about her, she must've been a good mother.

Carol started to sob. "I'm sorry." She whispers, pressing her forehead against Rick's, who eyes were starting to get wet too. "Oh, god." Her gaze then turned to Carl. "I'm sorry."

Carl felt his heart sink and the tears start to form in the corner of his eyes. The memory of his mother's death replayed in his head. He felt sick to his stomach but there was nothing he could do. Before he knew it, he was crying. Not crying, but sobbing.

Clementine glanced at her friend and softly gripped his wrist, trying to comfort him. She didn't know how to respond to these types of things, so she figured at least soothing him can calm him down. Despite crying and turning red from it, Carl blushed as her smooth hand touched his freckled skin. His heart nearly throbbed out of his chest at her touch.

He never wanted her to let go of him. He wanted her to stay holding him for a while. Her embrace made him feel warm inside like whenever his Mom was around to comfort him. That's what Moms were supposed to do, right? Comfort you doing bad times? With Clementine, it felt a little weird. Maybe it was because she was only a friend.

Carol spotted the young girl holding Carl's wrist and turned to Rick, "Who's she?" She asks, her voice cracking from crying.

"Her name's Clementine." Rick replies, wiping the tears from his now red and puffy eyes. "Daryl found her in the woods…alone."

Carol looked at the young girl and bent down to her height. "That's a sweet name you got." She gave her a sweet smile. "How long have you been here for?"

"Not long." She says, still holding onto Carl's wrist. "You know, Daryl talks a lot about you…"

"Clem!" Daryl snaps, feeling his face get hot. Said girl looked up at the redneck and giggled with mischief. Watching him blush in embarrassment was amusing to her. In a way, it was payback for all the times he'll make fun of her and Carl together.

Carol chuckled while averting her eyes to the young Dixon brother. "Does he?" Daryl opened his mouth, but no words left. Instead, he shut his jaw and faced the other direction as if he didn't hear her. "Well, I missed him too."

While the others caught up with Carol, Clementine turned her head to see the woman from before staring at them. She scanned each member of their group until her eyes landed on the young girl. When their eyes met, the woman quickly looked down at the ground with Clementine catching the look of empathy on her face. She wanted to tell everyone she was looking, but kept her mouth shut. It wasn't like she was going to harm them.

"You saw her too?" Carl's voice made Clem jump in surprise. His face wasn't red anymore and so weren't his eyes.

Clementine nods. "Yeah. What'd you think she's up to?"

"Nothing, I guess." Carl shrugs. "If she was going to do something, she would've done it by now."

Hershel overheard their conversation and approached the two while cautiously glancing at the woman. "Well, you're right about that, Carl. She would've done something already, unless she's plotting."

It was Daryl's turn to step in. "I doubt it. Who'd be stupid enough to injure themselves just to scout us out?"

Rick walked over to them, running his hand through his hair. "We'll find out in a second. I want you two to come with me." Daryl and Hershel both nod in unison. "And as for you two," He looked down at the two kids. "Go back to your cells and read some comics. I don't want y'all to be here incase anything goes bad."

"But Dad…" Carl protested, releasing Clem's hand from his wrist. He ignored the sudden feeling of emptiness as Clem's hand was removed from his wrist.

Rick scowled at his son. "No "buts"! Just do what I say."

Carl scoffed before walking off, leaving Clementine behind. Rick sighed, rubbing his forehead. Ever since Lori died, Carl was slowly losing his innocence. At first, he was worried but now he finally accepted the fact that it was happening. Not only that, but he was becoming more rebellious as well. Rebellious and quiet, both were unusual for a kid his age.

"He's a handful." Daryl says before giving Clem's back a pat. "But Clem here can help sort him out."

The young girl's cheeks turned pink. "W-What?"

Rick picked up on the redneck's tone and laughed. "Cut it, Daryl. You're embarrassing her." His laughing stopped and he pointed down the hall with his thumb. "Go on now, Clementine. We'll get you both if anything happens."

"Okay." She nods before walking off.

* * *

Clementine looked outside at the entrance to the prison, hoping for Daryl and the others to return. Michonne, the woman they found outside the gate, told them Maggie and Glenn were kidnapped and taken to a town called Woodbury. Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Oscar went to go bring them back. They've been gone for a while now. It was night and she knew how dangerous it can get when it was dark out. Hopefully they'll be back in one piece.

She bit her lower lip, the sudden thought of Glenn and Daryl and Rick being killed or eaten made her worries grow. She didn't want to lose more friends again, not after Christa and Omid. Especially not to bad people again.

"Clementine?" She turned her head to see Hershel approaching her with a worried look. "You know it ain't safe standing out here at night."

"I know." She says, nodding her head. "I'm just worried about them. What if they never come back?"

Hershel sighed. He was worried about them too, everyone was but he knew Clem would be the most concerned. She's been through hell, losing her friends left and right. He couldn't imagine the things she'll have to go through if she found out Daryl and the others were dead. Both her and Carl.

"They'll come back." He reassures her. "They're tough, Clementine. I'm sure they will find a way out of there if things get sticky." He then smiled to himself. "Rick always does."

Clementine looked up at the farmer with a small smile. "Lee always found a way out of things too. This one time, we were staying at a Motor Inn when bandits attacked us. I thought we were gonna die, but Lee saved us." Her smile then dropped. "Well…not everyone."

Hershel bowed his head in respect for her late friend. "Lee was a good man, Clementine. I'm sorry." There was a short silence between the two until Hershel huffs as lifted himself up with his crutches. "C'mon. Let's head back inside."

The girl obliged and followed the elderly man inside. It was quiet inside, so that meant Carl's baby sister, Judith, is asleep. Carl was the one to pick out her name, remembering his Mom telling Rick that she always loved that name. It wasn't the first name that was brought up, though. He and Clem were brainstorming names for her with Clem suggesting the names Carley and Brianna. Carl disliked those names, saying they didn't 'match' her. So, he suggested Judith and they both liked it.

"Judith is asleep." Clem sighs out in relief.

Hershel chuckled at her. "About time."

When they entered their cellblock, Carl and Beth were sitting on the steps, looking down at the ground in boredom. When Beth heard her Dad, she rose her head up and smiled. Carl rose his head and gave Clem a small nod, which she found a bit odd.

"How're we doing on baby formula?" Carl asks quickly.

Hershel looked over his shoulder at the cell where Judith was sleeping. "We have enough to last us another month."

Carl quickly nods and starts to fidget with the pistol in his hands. "I'll take Carol…and Clementine for some more at the end of the week."

Clementine was rather surprised by him. Not only was it going to be her first run, but it was going to be with Carol and Carl? She always pictured her first run was going to be with Daryl or Glenn, since she felt the safest with the two. She's still a little weary about Carol, since she just met her a few hours ago. She was nice, but she doesn't fully trust her yet.

Beth glanced at Clem's surprised look and said to Carl, "I'm sure your dad and the others will be back by then."

Carl looked at her with a cold look and shook his head. "You don't know that." He mumbles. "Right now, Judith is the only family I got."

Hershel nods in understanding at him until they heard a woman scream from a distance. Their heads snapped towards the direction of the scream with Carl and Clementine readying their guns.

"What was that?" Beth asks.

The scream came back again. "That was from the inside." Hershel points out, looking back at them with a worried expression on his face.

"Was that Carol?" Clementine asks, her eyes wide.

Hershel shook his head which was relieving for her. "She's out keeping watch in the guard tower with Axel."

"What if they came back for something?" Beth asks in concern, her eyes wide. "What if they're in trouble?"

Clementine's eyes narrowed at the direction where the scream came from. Whoever it was, they needed help. She took a step forward but was stopped by Hershel's crutch blocking her path. The old farmer shook his head at her.

"Stay put, Clementine." He says sternly.

"But someone's in trouble." She argued, scowling at him.

Hershel shook his head again. "We don't know if they're a threat or not."

She hung her head in defeat before looking back up at the farmer. "Lee would've went." She grumbles, low enough for only Hershel to hear. The sudden mention of her friend made Hershel hurt. If Lee was indeed here, he would've went to see what was going on. He wasn't going to argue with her and hurt her feelings. She was right.

"Fine." He sighs out, lowering one of his crutches to allow Clementine through.

Carl quickly screwed on the silencer to the barrel of his pistol. "I'm going to." He declares and followed Clementine before Hershel can stop him.

* * *

They walked through the hot and dusty hallway that led to the tombs. Carl's flashlight was their only source of light as they made their way towards the screaming, which got louder the closer they got. Clementine was on edge and Carl knew that. He noticed how nervous she looked as she saw a corpse wrapped in a white suit. The corpse, at this point, was nothing but bone. Clem shook her head in disgust at it.

As they were walking near the boiler room, Carl noticed how close Clementine was to him. Literally, they walked shoulder to shoulder together through the dark hall. Despite being on edge himself, he didn't mind Clem sticking so close to him. In fact, it felt rather nice.

He heard Clem gasp before quickly spinning around and fired at a walker behind them. The creature dropped dead and Carl shook his head.

"Thanks for covering me." Carl teases as they continued their search for the screaming.

Clementine rolled her eyes. "Hey, I don't have anything to silence my gun with. You do."

Carl turned his head at her and flashed her a small smile. "Well, I guess we gotta fix that."

Before Clementine can speak back, they heard a woman cry out, "No, No, No!" They ran towards the voice and their eyes went wide at the scene in front of them. There was a woman on the ground, crying with a bite mark on her arm while a man was cradling her. A teenager that reminded Clem of Ben stood over them, pacing back and forth nervously. Meanwhile, a large, African-American man with a beard and beanie was crushing walker skulls with a hammer while another woman with dark-skin was using a shovel to deal with them.

"We have to help them!" Clementine exclaimed, running over near the group and pulling out her Glock. She fired at a walker that the dark-skinned woman was struggling with. The woman turned and looked at her in awe.

By now, the whole group was looking at the two kids in shock. Where the hell did they come from? And why were they firing weapons?

"Come on!" Carl had broken them out of their awed state. "Hurry!"

Without hesitation, the two hurried out of the room with the group of 5 following. The man that was cradling the other woman fell from exhaustion. The others stopped and checked on him while Carl and Clem dealt with the walkers behind them. The larger man lifted the bitten woman from the man's grasp.

"Look out!" The woman Clementine saved yelled out to Carl.

Before he could react, Clementine shot the walker in the head. She flashed him a smug smirk, saying, "I guess we're even now."

Carl rolled his eyes and safely led the group back to the cellblock opposite of theirs. The large man set the injured woman on the ground as the man that was cradling her began to sob. Clementine looked at them with her eyes wide when she saw the bite mark on her arm.

"Is she dead?" The man's voice was shaky and he started to shake as well. "Baby? Can you hear me?" The woman didn't respond, instead she was staring up at the ceiling, her eyes becoming lifeless. The man started to cry again while Carl and Clem approached the dead woman.

"She's been bit." Clementine declared to Carl, who nodded.

The boy rose his gun to angle it with her head. "I'll take care of it." He huffs.

"Whoa!" The large man stopped him after seeing his gun. "Whoa, kid. Wait a minute."

"She doesn't have much time left." Clementine says, looking at the large African-American man with narrowed eyes.

The woman from before walked up to the two kids, her face written with confusion. "Who the hell are you? How did you get in here? Who are you with?" She bombarded the two with questions and that started to annoy Carl.

After seeing his annoyed face, Clementine spoke for him. "Look, we can help you." Her eyes averted to the dead woman. "But she's dead. If we don't do anything soon, she'll come back as one of them." She met Carl's eyes and the boy read her signal.

"No," The large man stopped Carl again. "We take care of our own." He turned and snatched the hammer from the weeping teenager's hands. After seeing him, Clementine immediately thought of Ben again. He was always a nervous wreck for no reason.

The man who cried over her body looked up at the larger man and turned pale. "No, Tyreese!" He cried out.

Tyreese looked down at him with an apologetic look. "I gotta do it." He says firmly. "Look, just take Ben and lean against the wall."

Clementine nearly smacked herself at the teen's name. Now he REALLY reminded her of Ben. What were the odds of those two sharing the same name?

Carl looked back towards the entrance to their cellblock to see Beth and Hershel looking through the bars. He gave them a nod and tapped on Clem's arm to follow. The girl gave him a questionable look until also noticing Beth and Hershel. Carl led her back to the cellblock and quickly shut the door and locked it.

"Hey!"

Clementine watched the woman she saved stomp her way over there, a deadly glare fixed at her group. Beth looked at her in shock while Carl and Clem simply stood there and awaited her outburst to happen.

Tyreese also walked towards them, his head tilted in confusion. "Kid, did you just lock us in here?"

"Open the door." The woman demanded, her grip tightening on the shovel in her hand.

Carl shook his head at them. "This room is secure. You'll be safe. You have food and water."

The woman approached the door and grabbed one of the bars. "Open this door." She repeats sternly. Clementine could tell she was both exhausted and annoyed. She knew those two things don't mix well together. Just ask Lily.

"I can't." Carl simply says.

She shook her head in denial, giving them a pleading look. "Come on, man. We're not animals." She pleads as Tyreese moved closer to her. "Don't do this." Her eyes then landed on Clementine. "Please, we're good people. Honey, you have to trust us."

Clementine looked at the ground sadly. "It's not my call." She says quietly, feeling bad for them. She knew they were good people after what they saw, but it wasn't her call. It was Rick's and he wasn't here. Not to mention they found their way in here.

"Don't do this." The woman whispers before she spotted Hershel peeking his head from one of the cells. Her expression changed and she glared at the farmer while hitting the door, which rattled loudly. "Hey! You can't just leave us in here! Open this door! Open it now!"

She banged on the door one last time before Tyreese stopped her. "Sasha! Back away from their door and let the man go." The woman named Sasha did as she was told and backed away. "Look around you. This is the best we've had in weeks. His house."

Clementine found her smiling at Tyreese. She could tell he was one of those people who care deeply for his friends, like most people in her group. Despite his size, he was nice, unlike Larry who was the complete opposite of him. He was always rambling and cursing and yelling, unlike Tyreese so far.

Speaking of Tyreese, he looked back at them and said, "We don't want any trouble." Carl nodded and Tyreese led Sasha back to their group.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Beth asks.

Clementine looked up at her and nodded. "We already did. Like Carl said, they have food and water. If anything happens, they can defend themselves." Beth stared at the young girl for a moment and nodded, understanding what she meant.

"We'll let them sleep there for tonight." Hershel says, his voice low so the other group can't hear them. "In the morning, I'll see if they need any patching up. We'll feed them too. We still got any noodles left?" He turned to his Daughter for an answer. Beth nods. "Good. We'll let them eat that."

"What about Rick?" Clem asks.

Hershel looked down at her. "What about him?"

"What'll he say about all this?" Her question earned worried glances between Hershel and his daughter. Carl, however, stood next to her, nodding his head in agreement. It's his Dad's decision to either let them stay or leave. If everything goes well, maybe he can let them stay.

Hershel grumbled to himself, completely forgetting about the sheriff. "The least we can do is feed them. We're not monsters. I'm sure Rick will understand that."

She hopes he did.


End file.
